Electric batteries with alkaline cells, both accumulator type and primary type, have been used for several years and found to be highly effective because of their characteristics of high capacity per unit weight and unit volume. Among the most important of this type battery has been the battery constructed with a positive electrode of silver and the negative electrode of zinc.
Batteries of this type are used to function under all climatic conditions, at high altitudes and as emergency energy sources which require that the batteries retain electrical energy potential and capacity over long periods of time. One of the difficulties with these batteries is the relatively high amount of hydrogen evolved at the negative electrode particularly during high temperature storage.